Pask Merlot Declaration 05

CJ Pask ‘Declaration’ Merlot 2005 (18.5/20), at 13.0% alc, the fermentation finished in barriques and the wine given 18 months maturation in French and American oak. Dark, deep ruby-garnet red, this has a very fine, tightly bound nose of dark plum aromas laced with spicy, toasty oak, which sits over the fruit at present. On palate, this has a rich and very complex flavoured palate with deep plum and tobacco fruit flavours alongside dense meat and earth elements with cedar and spice from the oak. Very concentrated, the palate has fine-grained tannins providing excellent structure and line, finishing with excellent length. Cellar 8-10 years plus.  RC May 10

Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay,New Zealand:14%;$55[ ProCork; DFB; Me 100; machine harvested; tail-end BF in 100% new oak 75% French, 25 US; followed by c. 18 months in barrel
Ruby, some velvet, older and lighter than the other high-rating ‘04s. This wine smells of toasty oak more than berry, with the varietal character pretty well obliterated. There are vanillin and caramel notes in the oak, highlighting the US component more than in the cabernet wines. The nett result is a fruity wine in the rich Irvine style of merlot, praised in Australia and America maybe, but not elsewhere. Palate is soft, rich and chocolatey-round, in an oaky style that is popular but non-varietal, and can be made in pretty well any warmer climate. Aftertaste is sweet clean oak. If you want to know about the precise varietal character and beauty of merlot as expressed in a critical climate such as Bordeaux, which Hawkes Bay can match very closely, check out the ’04 Craggy Gimblett example. Like pinot noir, merlot's floral charm is lost in hotter climates. The Pask Merlot will cellar 5 – 15 years, but won't blossom. Applying the concept 'Declaration' to this wine raises an interesting marketing question. My hunch is that by spreading the tag 'Declaration' across all the major winestyles the firm makes, Pask have diluted the concept down to everybody else’s ‘Reserve’, which becomes ho-hum. Better I think to make the hard call, and nominate one wine per vintage selected among all the candidate varieties, and declare that to be the firm’s greatest achievement for the year – the Declaration wine. GK 04/06

Source: geoffkellywinereviews.co.nz

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